'Neighbour from hell' hit with restraining order after 15-year vendetta against couple - spying on them and throwing rotting dead moles over garden fence

By EIRIAN JANE PROSSER, SENIOR REPORTER Published: 19:33, 26 June 2026 | Updated: 19:34, 26 June 2026 A nuisance neighbour who has waged a 15-year vendetta against the couple next door has been given a restraining order preventing her from contacting them after she deliberately left her lawnmower running to spoil their summer garden party. Zoi Hayes' bitter on-going feud with her long-suffering next door neighbours Peter and Corrine Rotherham has been the talk of the award winning village of Urchfont ever since the Rotherhams moved into their £675,000 bungalow in 2011. The neighbours have never got on and Hayes, who lived in a £1million home next door, has been the subject of a restraining order once before where she was banned from contacting the Rotherhams. Salisbury Magistrates' Court, Wilts, was told on Friday how Mr and Mrs Rotherham were enjoying a tapas party in their garden - hosting the event for six guests - when Hayes deliberately 'annoyed' them by leaving her noisy mower running. While her neighbours were hosting the party in July 2025 for the first time in 'a number of years', Hayes turned on her lawnmower and 'just left it' so the noise would 'frustrate and annoy' the Rotherhams and their guests. Some of the frustrated attendees had to go next door to ask Hayes to turn it off and secret footage recorded by them was used in the police investigation. Hayes admitted harassment that constitutes a breach of a restraining order. She was given a two-year restraining order and ordered to pay over £500, comprised of a £348 fine, victim surcharge of £139 and £85 in court costs. Nuisance neighbour Zoi Hayes pictured outside Salisbury Magistrates Court, Wilts. She waged a 15-year vendetta against the couple next door and has been given a restraining order Pictured: The home of Peter and Corrine Rotherham, left, and Hayes's property, right. Hayes 'annoyed' the couple by leaving her mower running while they were enjoying a tapas party The spat took place in Urchfont, which won The Campaign to Protect Rural England's winner award for Best Kept Village in both 2024 and 2025. Properties in the village can fetch up to £1,725,000. It is the second time Hayes has been handed a restraining order. In 2021, she was given one at the same court after she 'damaged a single sweet pea flower' belonging to semi-retired auditor Mrs Rotherham and her tree surgeon husband. Hayes moved into her home in Urchfont in 2003 with her husband Arthur, 74, while Mr and Mrs Rotherham moved into their bungalow in 2011. She has now moved to Hartgrove, Dorset, and told the court she didn't want to give her address to the court as she didn't want the Rotherhams - sitting in the public gallery - knowing it. The restraining order includes conditions not to contact the couple or go to their address. Robert Salamé, prosecuting, said: 'The defendant has a conviction for criminal damage to which she was subject to a restraining order to run for a period of five years between February 23, 2021 and February 22, 2026. 'Mrs Rotherham and the defendant have been neighbours for 15 years. 'There is a lengthy history of disputes between them which culminated with that prosecution and the imposing of the restraining order. 'There was a breach of the restraining order between February 24, 2021 and March 25, 2021, for which the defendant received a suspended imprisonment of six weeks, suspended for 12 months and the restraining order remained in place. 'The matter to which the defendant is to be sentenced occurred on July 19, 2025 when Corrine Rotherham held a dinner party with six friends. 'It was a sunny evening and at around 7:30pm the defendant parked her lawnmower directly next to the fence and she left the engine running loudly for approximately an hour. 'It caused Corrine a degree of distress and her friends went next door to speak to Zoi. 'She admitted doing it to annoy Corrine and the matter was subsequently reported to the police as this amounted to a breach of the restraining order conditions.' In a statement provided to the court, Mrs Rotherham said: 'She does not realise how much she impacted on me and my husband. 'My concern is that she will come back to the area as she has never accepted that she has done anything wrong. 'I have heard that she is obsessed with getting revenge. 'After talking to our new neighbours I have heard that she has, on several occasions, come back to pick up items such as garden equipment.' Mr Salamé said that when Hayes was in the process of moving out of her house, she would make 'sneering' comments at Mrs Rotherham, who would ignore them as she knew it would be over soon. He said that in February 2026 she approached Mr Rotherham when he was out shopping which left him feeling 'shocked' and 'unsettled'. Hayes, defending herself, said: 'I would like to begin by expressing my sincere remorse for my actions and I deeply regret that incident. 'I understand that what I did was wrong and I am sorry. 'All of this has come about as a result of a 16-year-long lasting neighbour dispute and a personality clash between Corrine Rotherham and myself. 'Because of this I have ended up with a string of convictions that I agree look bad on paper but do not tell the whole story. Hayes pictured outside court on Friday. The dispute with her neighbours has been the talk of the award winning village of Urchfont 'This is the main reason I have decided to represent myself today.' She said that the incident took place during a 'difficult period' in her life due to mental health issues. Chair of the Magistrates Timothy Watts concluded: 'We have listened carefully to your evidence and the prosecution. 'We noted your remorse but we also noted your relevant convictions. 'We have decided to deal with this with a fine. A restraining order will be put in place for two years.' After the sentence, Hayes said: 'You have to remember that there are two sides to every story. 'She finds a way to twist everything. I will only be happy when she takes her last breath.' Previously, Mrs Rotherham said: 'She made our lives absolute hell for 14 or 15 years. 'It was like living with a Peeping Tom who was absolutely obsessed with you. She cut a hole in the hedge so she could look through so we had to grow it out. 'We avoided her like the plague. It was just hell. She was a compulsive liar and a neighbour from hell. 'We just love sitting out in the garden but had to move around the other side so she couldn't see. We had a music box on quietly so she couldn't hear us talking. 'On other occasions she threw dead moles over the fence and onto our property. She would also wake up and start hitting her wheelie bin at 5.45am just to wake us up. 'We had to move to the bedroom just to avoid her. It was just one thing after another.' The comments below have been moderated in advance. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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